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Monday, June 13, 2011

PASSING THE SPIDER GUARD, THE GB WAY.

I have to admit, the Gracie Barra system looks pretty effective. The instructors, from what I've seen, are top notch - many are already famous past and present competitors in the world of BJJ. And, they're so well organized. I worry that I would have flunked out of BJJ if I'd been raised in that environment.

My upbringing in BJJ was a lot more "fluid" and "organic" and not as systematic and curriculum-based as the GB instruction (and, similarly, the the instruction style of many other academies, including GJJ and others). That's not to imply it was disorganized (maybe a little). We just relied a lot more on the gods of Budo to guide us in our instruction and we definitely never had a manual. We did roll and continue to roll (i.e., free train or spar) a lot. I still believe that kind of training (hard and sometimes physically perilous) is essential for anyone's proper BJJ rearing. It's just a tough sport that, to some degree, cannot appeal to every person.

Still, BJJ is still evolving and so is the style in which it's instructed. The reality is that modern BJJ instruction needs to be more inclusive and organized if it's going to thrive. Hopefully, that won't mean it gets too watered down and wimpy. If it does, I'm going back to Ninjitsu.